Chapter 58
Nix
Comfort envelops me.
My lungs fill with mint-tinted air, reminding me that I’m at Volik’s house, and my mouth pulls into a sleepy smile.
Being with him, my mate, feels more like a dream than reality. Like living in a fairy tale.
Keeping my eyes closed, I soak in my surroundings.
The mattress beneath me is molded to my body. My body feels warm, but the sheets are smooth and cool against my bare skin.
I’m lying flat on my back, left arm on the bed at my side. Right hand resting on my bare stomach with Volik pressed against the right side of my body.
He’s on his side, facing me, with his heavy arm draped over my chest, his knee resting on my leg, and his chin pressed against the top of my head.
Volik is touching me in so many places. And the usual heat is radiating from him. But…
I blink my eyes open.
The warmth I’m feeling… it feels like more than that.
I feel warm. Like the heat is coming from inside me.
It’s not uncomfortable. It’s… soothing.
I stare up at the stone ceiling high above me.
I didn’t absorb many details of Volik’s house earlier, when we crashed through the hallways. But I think it’s all stone. The walls. The ceiling.
I blink again, trying to guess how long we’ve been asleep. Is it still today?
Earlier, there were little lights embedded in the ceiling, glowing like stars. I’m sure of it.
But… they’re off now.
I blink again.
The lights are off. There are no windows. But I can see all the slight ridges in the stone. I can make out the veins of lighter stone in what I thought was solid tan rock.
I can see so much.
In the dark.
Maybe this is another type of magic. Like the lock on the door.
Exhaustion settles heavily in my chest.
Will sex with Volik always be like this?
I can’t see his face, but it seems like he’s asleep. And it makes me feel a little better that he’s tired too. That it’s not just me.
I yawn, my mouth opening wide.
As I shove the breath from my lungs, I close my mouth.
Something sharp pokes my lower lip, and a small sound of shock leaves my chest.
Volik makes a sleepy grunt, and his arm tightens around me, but he doesn’t wake.
Slowly. Cautiously. I reach up and gently touch my lower lip. Pressing against the two spots of pain.
My heart starts to race.
Volik makes another sound in his sleep.
Sleep. Because he’s tired.
Because something happened last night.
Something big.
Something that drained him of energy.
My fingers tremble as I move them up.
As I open my mouth wider.
My jaw doesn’t ache anymore. Not like it did last night.
And…
My breath catches.
Holy shit.
My heart jumps as my touch meets something hard.
I press my fingertips firmly against the enamel.
And…
I drag my fingers down the front of my teeth.
I can feel the pressure.
Can feel that the teeth are mine.
I can feel their permanence.
I drag my fingers down, farther than I should be able to.
I can feel where they narrow.
And…
My lungs burn.
My eyes widen.
I suck in a breath.
As I feel the tips of my fangs.
The. Tips. Of my fangs.
I shift my hand and press my thumb to one of the points.
It pierces through my skin.
Lifting my hand above me, I watch as a drop of blood wells.
A drop of bright red. The color vivid, even in the darkness of the room.
Keeping my thumb still, I curl my fingers.
And, in the dark that isn’t dark, I stare at my fingernails.
My black fingernails.
The drop of blood drips off my thumb.
I watch it fall.
I watch it splash onto Volik’s arm.
I feel his swift inhale.
The next part is instant.
And his reaction is… violent.